Death's Dancers
by Lucicelo
Summary: Upon returning from their latest case, Tsuzuki forgot how strict his sister became when it pertained to her oldest passion: ballroom dancing. Guardian!Ruka part 5


_**A/N: Ever since Tsuzuki commented that Ruka taught him to dance, I had to write this installment of the Guardian!Ruka universe. Ruka might be sweet, but I see her as a perfectionist when it comes to her passion: dance.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading!**_

 _ **If you'd like to buy me a coffee through using Ko-Fi, you can find the link on my tumblr: Lucicelo.**_

 _ **-Lucicelo**_

* * *

Upon returning from their latest case, Tsuzuki and Hisoka retold everything to Chief Konoe, all details included, while submitting their report. Tsuzuki faltered a bit when mentioning the young dancer, Toujou Hisae, a girl with immense talent, her life ending through disease and competing one last time on stage. In a way, she reminded him of his sister through their love of dance, stubbornness to survive, and love of family. Tsuzuki felt a kinship with her.

Konoe glanced at Tsuzuki for a brief period of time when mentioning the waltz competition during their conversation. Hisoka didn't miss the constant twitching of Konoe's lips. Afterwards, the Chief snorted, shook his head, dismissing them with a wave of a hand.

Returning to their office, Tsuzuki and Hisoka bumped into Ruka as she left the main Summons Section area. Tsuzuki ran toward Ruka, pulling her into his arms, cuddling with her with all his might. This time, Ruka didn't have books or a cart in between them. Ruka returned the love, ruffling his hair, then adjusted his tie. Tsuzuki's entire being seemed to glow more in the presence of his sister.

Unfazed, Hisoka waited out the Tsuzuki siblings _reunion_. Checking around the area, he noticed guardians shake their heads in amusement before going on their merry way. The first time he witnessed Tsuzuki jumping onto Ruka, Hisoka thought Tsuzuki had not seen his sister for _weeks_ , maybe even _months_. Not the case. This happened each time Tsuzuki returned from a case. Ruka welcomed him back with open arms, letting her taller, younger brother, pour out his affection onto her.

Tsuzuki asked her. "Where were you going? Running errands for the chief?"

Ruka patted her brother's shoulders while she answered him. "I was going to prepare some tea for the afternoon. It's getting a bit chilly." She turned to Hisoka, addressing him with a smile. "Would you like a cup, Kurosaki-san?"

Not at all offended from being ignored, Hisoka nodded his head. "A cup would be nice."

Tsuzuki piped up. "I can do it!"

Ruka and Hisoka shot that idea down with a simple no.

Tsuzuki harrumphed. "I won't get any better if I don't practice. Don't blame me for not knowing how to brew tea."

"Asato, I taught you how to cook and brew tea. Are you saying that I'm not a good teacher?" Ruka mused as she turned around and walked back inside of the office.

Tsuzuki shook his head. "No, no, Ruka you are amazing! C'mon, I can go right now. I won't take too long."

"No, thank you." Shaking her head, Ruka said. "I'll go make it later. I'm way more interested in hearing about your newest case. I heard that this one was another retrieval sort of case." She went to one of the empty desks and sat down. Tsuzuki and Hisoka sat across from her.

Hisoka piped up. "There was a case of a young lady who kept on living despite having a debilitating disease. She was admitted to a hospital, but she discharged herself, despite doctor's orders. We managed to infiltrate the dance studio because _he_ ," He pointed at Tsuzuki using his thumb, Tsuzuki chuckled. "agreed to become her dance partner. That's why we spent two weeks away from the bureau."

"Asato, you competed in a competition! Oh, this brings back so many memories. All those hours practicing, the outfits, the music, and trusting each other to guide one another to the music." Ruka clapped her hands together in delight. "Did you _win_?"

Hisoka swore he saw a glint in her eyes, but he tossed it aside to the lights of the office.

Tsuzuki rubbed the back of his neck. "Um...I didn't stay for the results? The young lady died once she finished her last dance after all."

A moment of time passed before Ruka inquired. "And _why_ _not_?"

"Ruka, we were retrieving a stubborn soul! Her last wish was to compete and I became her partner to finish our case! She passed away after the competition was over. I have to say, it was amazing to dance on the stage floor again. I didn't even look at the judges this time." Tsuzuki put his hands up when he noticed Ruka's twitching eyebrow. "Tojou-san thought I was a _graceful_ dancer."

"Probably desperate. She _was_ desperate." Hisoka muttered under his breath.

"Show me." Ruka deadpanned.

"Eh?" Tsuzuki said. "Show you?"

Ruka tapped her foot before motioning to an open space in their vast section. "You're going to show me how you _lead_ this girl in your dance. _I_ will be the _judge_ of your skills."

"Um...can we do it later?" Tsuzuki laughed to quench her interest, but one look from her and he relented. "Okay, okay. I don't know why you want me to dance, not when I practiced alongside this young woman."

" _Hmph_. We'll see."

Hisoka leaned back against his seat, amused at the change of dynamic between the two. Most of the time, the cuddly and affectionate atmosphere surrounded Ruka and Tsuzuki. Now, Ruka permeated sternness and her eyes seem sharper as her gaze lingered on her brother. Tsuzuki appeared nervous as he lifted himself out of his seat. Ruka followed suit, leaving Hisoka to a front seat view to Tsuzuki's impromptu performance.

Walking to the open space, Tsuzuki maneuvered into the starting position. One swat on his lower back caused him to straightened up.

Hisoka snickered behind his hand.

" _Asato_."

"Sorry." Tsuzuki gulped.

One heartbeat later, Tsuzuki began moving along with the music Toujou Hisae used for their performance. Using an old performance piece might stroke the annoyance inside of his sister at his lack of practice. Despite having no partner, he kept his arms in the proper position for a short woman.

Ruka began listing the mistakes in her brother's form and the manner he carried himself while dancing with this invisible partner. The more she spoke, the more Asato straightened himself up, moving his body in the right positions. A few smacks later, he returned to his former grace. Satisfied, she tried imagining the music, a soothing, but energetic sort of piece.

A replay of their old dancing lessons, ones where they lived in their dilapidated home, entered her mind. Her eyes misted in nostalgia at the memories. Asato jumped at the opportunity, happy to guide his older sister in a dance. These lessons stopped when she developed her ending disease and became bedridden. Once Asato entered the Summons Section, Ruka resumed their lessons. She turned stricter, a preteen learned the basics, an adult developed their skill into their unique style. Asato kept himself as attentive student.

She broke from her thoughts when Asato went out of form. A ridiculous mistake. He reached the crescendo of his performance. Eyebrow twitching, she leaned forward and smacked his arm. He jumped and locked himself back into the right form.

Ruka paused in her movements and stepped back. "Ah..." She hunched her shoulders with a blush staining her cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Asato. You know how I get when it comes to professional dancing. You should know better than to stray out of form! I taught you better than...than _this_! How did this girl no see you leaving form?!"

Playing up dramatics, Tsuzuki stopped in the middle of his dance, set a hand on his chest and pouted. "This is giving me war flashbacks. My loving older sister, leaving bruises on my arms, yelling at me for my mistakes."

" _Hush_!"

Curious, Hisoka turned to Ruka and inquired. "You danced? Professionally?"

Ruka scratched her nose with her finger. "An enthusiast."

Tsuzuki snorted. "Stop being modest." He jabbed his thumb at her direction. "Ruka is an old ballroom dancing champion. Well, the _both_ of us are ballroom dancing champions. She fulfilled her dream of ballroom dancing during one of our cases. It's too bad we didn't have someone record us, we had the judges _speechless_."

Ruka rubbed the back of her neck with a smile. "Yes...Asato and I, we had to infiltrate a competition where suspicious activity happened often enough to warrant our attention. To my luck, this happened in our district and I jumped at the chance to compete. During our investigation, we made up a performance piece which didn't take up a portion of oir time. We ended up winning...with our real names. We have the trophy somewhere in our apartment."

Hisoka's eyes widened. "Ah...I never would have guessed. I was shocked that Tsuzuki knew how to dance in the first place."

"Hey!"

"Come, come." Ruka opened her arms, motioning Hisoka toward her with her hands. "I can teach you a few poses. Nothing too hard. I think you will be able to lead your partner well without formal training. The waltz isn't too hard of a dance." Seeing Hisoka's hesitant stare, she added in. "I won't touch your body if you're uncomfortable. You can always hover your hands over my hand and my waist."

Asato stage whispered to Hisoka. "Don't do it. She's a beast when it comes to dancing. She will keep smacking different parts of your body for messing up! You just saw her hitting me when I went out of form. You will have bruised up arms by the time your lesson is over."

Hisoka rolled his eyes. "Doubt it." His lips quirked up, eyes twinkling in mischief, he added in. "You're just so punchable. No wonder she ends up smacking you."

Jaw dropping, Tsuzuki laid a hand on his chest, gasping. "You're stealing my sister from me!"

"Maybe." Hisoka arched a brow before he removed himself from his seat. "She's tolerable."

The end.


End file.
